It is well known in the art to provide a meter box cover for a utility meter mounted in a recessed container. Water meters are often mounted inside meter boxes which are then buried below ground level. The meter cover provides protection from debris, the weather elements, and unintended access to the meter. It is also known to secure these meter covers by a locking mechanism thus preventing tampering, vandalism, or accidental dislodging of the cover. It also has become more common for meter readers to read utility meters remotely using electronic equipment that can access various wireless data transmission channels.
Known meter covers are made from cast iron, steel, brass, and bronze. Although these materials are very durable, they are less conductive to wireless signal transmissions. Also these materials tend to be heavy thus making installation and removal of the covers difficult. Moreover, these materials may corrode over time making the cover locking mechanism difficult to use.
Attempted solutions to the corrosion problem include making the meter covers from concrete-polymer blends. These poly-concrete formulations may avoid corrosion but they also can be prone to cracking.
One attempted solution to the signal transmission problem was to make the meter covers from plastic formulations. A plastic meter cover may provide better wireless signal transmission properties but meter covers made from some types of plastic can degrade under UV light exposure, crack under pressure, or simply float away in flood conditions. Plastic covers may weigh significantly less than metallic or concrete covers. This reduction in weight can result in the meter cover becoming dislodged or unseated from the meter box in certain situations such as when run over by a vehicle.
What is needed is a light weight, durable meter cover that can provide improved wireless signal transmission characteristics and also a securement means and method which will enable the cover to be secured to the meter box so that it will not become dislodged or unseated under certain conditions.